Violence in Video Games
The entertainment industry has been booming with the emergence of video games and their development. There have been many controversies that have hit the gaming industry in regards to the games produced and the effects they have on both the players and the society. Gaming disorder and violence has hit a lot of debate as many psychologists have shown that aggression is part of these video games. It is surprisingly that it is not only violent video games that have been viewed to create violence but also other games, which may also look innocent to the eyes of users. The brain and the body coordinate in a stimuli manner when the user is exposed to videogames. The World Health organization has been remarkably stated to update its list of mental health conditions that is in International Classification of Diseases (ICD) as it now has a ‘gaming disorder’ added to the list (Loria). Gaming is thus problematic since the violence it advocates for is impacts on other people.
However, there has been a wide field of review which states that violent games have advantages more than disadvantages. They create an avenue which people may express themselves that is their anger. Video games have no direct link to violence since juvenile crimes have reduced since the sales sky rocketed. The gamers also acquire positive real life skills as the brain activity is improved and problems solving skills are acquired. Action and consequences are taught as the video games also defy age.
In gaining a better understanding about the size of the population affected by video games, it is important to understand the percentage of US households that are a gaming nation. According to Entertainment Software Association, sixty-four percent of US households have been found to own gaming consoles. In light of the above, the average gamer’s age is about thirty-four years while seventy percent are above eighteen years old. Sixty percentages of Americans are regarded to be playing video games on a daily basis.
Further, the genres of games that are played need to be analyzed before concluding to what the thesis supports. According to Entertainment Software Association, 25.9% of games sold are for shooting, 21.9% are for action, and 6% are for fighting. With all these combined, it would be proper to articulate that violent games encompass almost fifty percent of the market’s sales.
In support of the above mentioned, the youth violence trend has been noted to have increased over the years and they are related to the number of video games sold worldwide. According to Entertainment Software Association, ever since the year 1998 the violence crime offences per hundred thousand people have tremendously increased as video games raked billions of dollars up until the year 2015.
The American Psychological Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics have reported than more than 90% of the US children play video games and the number increases to 97% if the age is between 12 to 15 (Scutti). This is much attributed to video games using living targets and awarding points for killing which creates aggressive behaviors to the users and players hence angry thoughts and feelings.
The realistic element of video games has thus made it more prone to incite violence to users as we are also heading to virtual reality. The element of violence makes video games more appealing and sale worthy that these statistics ought to be the true reflection of the current society.
With the world of video games evolving into virtual reality and the graphics increasingly being realistic, there are gamers who tend to create their own real ordeals in real time situations. For instance, in the year 2008, there was a group of teenagers in New York near New Hyde Park who took up a crime spree (Cahill). They mugged, smashed cars with a baseball bat, and stole from the people near the Park. One of the victims called the police and upon arrest, they stated that they were inspired by Grand Theft Auto IV, a popular video game.
Another instance included a very peculiar scenario where a 14-year-old Nathon Brooks was grounded in the year 2013 from using consoles (Cahill). The boy later took his father’s revolver and shot both his parents while they were sleeping. It was sheer luck that the parents survived.
In the year 2012, there were a series of crimes committed in Australia where teenage crime was rampant in New South Wales where many of these teenagers were arrested carrying knives (Cahill). They stated that they were inspired by the awards that video games provided which included killing, raping, and chaos.
The courts and justice system have also experienced the negativity of video games. In another instance, there was a perfect replica of Grand Theft Auto Vice City in which, a young boy in 2003 by the name Devin Moore, was a suspect of car theft at Alabama Police Station. It is after being booked that Moore grabbed a gun from an officer and fired three rounds in which one hit he officer in the head. As he tried to escape, he also shot another officer in the same fashion and escaped the vicinity while shooting another police officer down the hallway. This might sound like a game but the young man stole a police car but was later apprehended. His lawyer argued that Moore had a high affinity in playing violent video games and Moore also commented about how life is like a video game.
There has been an interesting development in the gaming world where some may support the notion that violent games are good for the brain and the mind. However, in light of the above, it is very clear that games pose a great danger to the individuals and society at large. In the wake of school shootings and such as the Parkland, shooting it is very worrying that even the White House attributes such ordeals to violent games.
It is important to differentiate between aggression and violence in which gaming may lead to both or one. An increased level of dopamine in the brain is also attributed to video games in which the functional and structural changes occur in terms of the neural reward system. Pro-social behaviors are reduced, as the users may tend to have an increase in impulsivity as well as aggression. By understanding this, it can help to have better recommendations.
With a good political will and good initiatives from the society and parents, it would be highly productive if all stakeholders come together and know the root disadvantage of violence and gaming. The White House has been quoted as it embarks to invest with congress in research on video games and violence. These would open doors for research and thus enable a settlement of the long time debate between video games and violence. Good parenting and adequate supervision should be carried out with the help of specialists’ advice in regards to different children. Public awareness and education should also feature in the recommendation. Overall, the creators of these games should exercise discretion and implement stringent parental control mechanism in order to monitor the children.
Works Cited
Anderson, Craig A and Brad J Bushman. Effects of Violent Video Games on Aggressive Behavior, Aggressive Cognition, Aggressive Affect, Physiological Arousal, and Prosocial Behavior: A Meta-Analytic Review of the Scientific Literature. October 2001. 20 October 2018 <https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Multiple-episode-General-Aggression-Model-of-the-long-term-effects-of-video-game_fig1_11792416>.
Cahill, James. Top 10 Violent Crimes Tied To Video Games. 28 October 2017. 22 October 2018 <http://listverse.com/2017/10/28/top-10-violent-crimes-tied-to-video-games/>.
ESA. Essential Facts About The Computer and Video Game Industry 2018. 12 October 2018. 21 October 2018 <http://www.theesa.com/article/essential-facts-computer-video-game-industry-2018/>.
Loria, Kevin. 'Gaming disorder' has been classified as a mental health condition by the World Health Organization — here's what that means. 18 June 2018. 22 October 2018 <https://www.businessinsider.com/gaming-disorder-classified-as-mental-health-condition-11-2018-6?IR=T>.
Scutti, Susan. Do video games lead to violence? 22 February 2018. 21 October 2018 <https://edition.cnn.com/2016/07/25/health/video-games-and-violence/index.html>.
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